In late 2022 HCA was commissioned by the Mental Health Community Coalition (MHCC ACT) to construct and facilitate a survey to assess and analyse the community-managed mental health workforce in the ACT. The survey was administered to 49 MHCC ACT member organisations as well as non-member organisations providing mental health services, and a total of 55 organisations responded. This was considered a very good response rate.

The survey drew from previous workforce studies by HCA for the MHCC (NSW) in 2019 and 2021, which provided a point of comparison for the data. The data highlights a large (the community managed sector workforce accounts for an estimated 60% of the total ACT mental health workforce – a substantial contribution to mental health service delivery in the ACT) and diverse workforce with several concerning shortcomings.

“The findings of this report provide invaluable and unprecedented insights into the size, nature and context of the community-managed mental health workforce, demonstrating both the valuable contribution of the workforce and the myriad challenges it is currently facing,” Corinne Dobson, acting CEO of MHCC ACT.

Approximately two thirds of the workforce are female (61%), and almost 70% are below the age of 45. The findings also elucidated a high level of employment insecurity across the workforce, with approximately half of workers in casual or temporary positions. On top of this, the survey showed that workforce demand is set to intensify, an important risk given an already overburdened workforce.

It was observed that professionals in the community-managed mental health sector tend not to stay in the sector for long, rather using it as a stepping-stone to other mental health sectors. This raises concern over the short-term nature of a workforce that is not prepared for increasing demand. The findings are already being utilised by the MHCC ACT to inform development of the community-managed mental health workforce in the ACT.

To have a read of the full report, click here.